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Staten Island products have former doormat NJIT in hunt for first regular season crown

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Coach Jim Engles looks on as Ky Howard tries to get the ball from Ryan Woods during NJIT's basketball practice Friday. Engle's team plays for a conference title Saturday.
(Photo by Frances Micklow/The Star-Ledger)

These days, the text messages that pour into Mike Spisto’s phone are completely different than they once were. For the first four years he was an assistant coach at NJIT, Spisto would get words of sympathy and inspirational quotes from his friends in the coaching fraternity — all done in hopes…